Word Pro - Spring 2003

Transcription

SHHS Rattle!
The quarterly publication of the southeastern hot herp society
News and Info for SHHS Members
In This Issue: B. asper, C. molossus, B.nasicornis
www.VenomousReptiles.org
Rattlesnake Roundups:
“Get used to the idea”
An editorial by Karl Betz, SHHS VP
This year was the second anniversary of Fitzgerald
Georgia’s Annual Wild Chicken Festival. The
overwhelming response from the venomous reptile
keeping community was apparently “So what!”
Previously, Fitzgerald held an annual
rattlesnake roundup which was quite the cash boon
for this sleepy little Georgia town. Under pressure
from reptile enthusiasts and the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources, the Fitzgerald Jaycees decided
to try to capitalize on something unique to their town –
the wild population of Burmese Wild Chickens to be
the focus of their annual festival. They asked that
DNR ensure that the venomous keeping community,
which had been so vocal in attempting to end the
roundup, come and display the snakes that they were
so passionate about. DNR sent out the call to the
Southeastern Hot Herp Society and the Georgia
Herpetological Society. The idea was to get herp
keepers to volunteer to display their reptiles so that
people would still get to see their rattlesnakes and it
would still draw in customers for the other booths and
therefore money into the town.
Spring 2003 / Page 1
Chris Harper, the President of the SHHS,
emailed a group of the most reliable educators in the
society and posted several requests for support in the
Yahoo Groups and the SHHS forums. The few
people who did respond mostly had other educational
events that they had previously scheduled. Some
folks wanted to know if they would be reimbursed for
their time, travel and room and board expenses. The
answer to that is obviously “No.” Fitgerald never had
to pay anyone to come and collect and then kill
rattlesnakes. Switching over to pay someone to come
display them does not show a profit.
The general feeling from our community was
one of “They have already done away with their
rattlesnake roundup, we should move on to Claxton
and Whigham since they still have roundups!” I
sincerely doubt that those two towns will end their
roundups based on the drop in money brought in at
Fitzgerald since they stopped theirs. In fact, several
vendors at Fitzgerald this year were overheard to be
commiserating that there were a lot more customers
when they were killing rattlesnakes.
In the vacuum of participation, Cyndi
(hereafter “The Boss”) and I made plans to drive the
four hours to Fitzgerald. As I normally do not keep
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes, I found myself
asking people if they had one that I could borrow to
display. The responses were an overwhelming “NO!”
They ranged from “I don’t want my snake to be
stressed” to “Ask somebody else, I am busy!”
Fortunately for me, The Boss is quite level-headed
and said to me, “Why don’t we just go catch our own,
display it and then let it go?” So, off we went, and 5
minutes out of the van, we bagged a beautiful 4
footer. 15 minutes after that, we found another four
footer that we photographed but did not keep. On any
other given day, I could not guarantee that we would
even find any snake. This time it seemed to be an
omen. Now we had a snake for the festival but
needed a cage to display it in. Matt Crews was kind
enough to supply a very nice Neodesha which was
just what we needed.
Not sure what to expect when we got there,
we loaded up the van and headed out at 4 in the
morning to Fitzgerald. When we arrived, we were
directed to a $4, all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast
that was really quite good. Set-up only took a few
minutes for the few snakes that we had. Jason
Barron was the only other SHHS member to show up.
His uncle, Delton Hilliard, has the requisite permits for
nonvenomous display in Georgia and has displayed
snakes at Fitzgerald for several years.
The Georgia Herp Society showed up and
had quite a few displays including a couple of
non-indigenous venomous snakes that had been
confiscated by DNR. The gist of their display was
mostly the nonvenomous snakes and turtles of
Georgia and they offered things for sale to the public
such as local field guides and the ever-popular “Have
your picture taken with a snake or turtle.”
At the only SHHS table, The Boss and I
fielded questions ranging from “Why do you keep
these awful animals?” to “What months do
Diamondbacks mate in and are they more aggressive
then?” The younger people were, as usual, more
interested in the animals but they dragged their
parents along with them. Several people were very
interested in why we thought that rattlesnakes should
not be indiscriminately killed wherever they are found
and some left with a newfound respect for these
magnificent animals. Certainly there were people who
had never left the county in their entire life and several
who had never even entered high school. People
from all walks of life need to be educated to not kill
snakes, not just the ones that share our interests,
religious or political views, or even our educational
background.
At the end of the day, as we packed up, I
overheard several people leaving discussing whether
or not Fitzgerald would or should return to having
roundups as that would certainly get attendance back
up. As they walked away, I looked around at all the
support they had gotten from the venomous keeping
community and wondered why they had ever quit
having roundups. I expect that next year there will still
be the usual petitions to stop roundups and the gripes
and complaints about how horrible they are. The fact
is that they bring money into otherwise quiet little
communities which support very humane causes, like
the Jaycees, Lions, and other civic organizations.
Now that I have witnessed it first-hand, I would have
to agree with those people leaving the Wild Chicken
Festival. If folks won’t support an alternate agenda,
why not continue the roundups? “It’s not good for
ecological balance.” “They keep down rat populations
and therefore prevent diseases like Hanta Virus and
Black Plague.” “It is cruel, mean and hateful.” While
all good arguments, these do not bring money into a
small community. Rattlesnake roundups certainly do
catch the public’s attention and do bring in money for
the local economy.
In closing, I would like to say that rattlesnake
roundups are an awful blight on an ecologically
conscious society. People will make the right choices
as long as they don’t have to suffer to make them.
What are YOU doing to support them making the
decision you support? If the answer is nothing, then
by your inaction, I submit that you are supporting
roundups. Take a really good look at the situation.
Where do you stand?
About the Author:
Karl Betz is currently serving in
the US Navy at Kings Bay in St.
Mary’s Georgia.
Apalachicola 2003:
“Land of the fortunate few”
by Chris Harper, Pres. SHHS
Anyone in the general vicinity of the Florida
panhandle on the nights of April 4 th and 5th can relax.
That wasn’t an earthquake you were feeling. It was
Chad Minter snoring at Camel Lake campground 12
miles south of Bristol, Florida. I know this as my
tent was only 30 feet from his. For the 3rd year in a
row, the SHHS had returned for our annual group
herping trip.
If you were one of the unfortunate people
that didn’t attend, let me tell you what you missed.
First of all, the Apalachicola National Forest (ANF)
is a nearly 560,000-acre tract of pine and palmetto
forest located southwest of Tallahassee, Florida in
the panhandle. Directly to the south is Tate’s Hell
Swamp, which is also an incredibly large tract of
land. If I had to guess, I’d say that combined, there
is well over a million acres of land that you could’ve
been herping! Splitting them both down the middle
is the Ochlockonee River, a typical black, swamp fed
river, loaded with gators, cottonmouths and turtles
galore.
On Friday night when I arrived, a few folks
had already been herping the whole day. Chad
Minter claimed to have seen no less than 15 snakes
prior to my arrival.
Saturday morning I awoke to the sound of
rain drizzling on the tent. “Oh no. Not again.” I
thought to myself as I looked up through the screen
mesh at the gray tarp covering my tent. I slowly
climbed out and surveyed the overcast sky. Hmm,
not too dark and ominous and the temp was in the
low 70’s. I could live with that.
Just as quickly as we could eat breakfast,
we got into our vehicles and hit the dirt roads. My
riding partner for the day was Derrick Kesler of
Royston, Georgia, a first time herper. We decided to
head to the southern end of the ANF, and then work
our way west. While I enjoy road cruising, I also
like to make sure that I explore every nook and
cranny of any place that I visit, and hence, I use GPS
software and a laptop computer to navigate. In short
order, I showed Derrick how to use the software,
took over as navigator and we started looking for
places that I hadn’t been before.
I’m not sure what was going on at camp, but
Derrick and I got into a hard rain that lasted for
hours. We made the best of it and put my Jeep
From Left: John Pullian, David Smith, Derrick Kesler, Dr. Bob Herrington, Chris Harper, Karl Betz, Cyndi Betz, Bill
Spencer, Brad Kalota, and Chad Minter. Not pictured -- Chase Gwaltney and Tyler Lee.
were in camp, but we also heard tales about the
ones that “got away”. ;-) Late into the night,
we sat around the campfire recounting our
experiences and captures. As usual, I tossed in
a few paramedic stories to spice things up.
On Sunday morning, I awoke to find a
very large, ill-tempered Black racer making his
way around my tent. (I think someone had
slapped him around a bit before tossing him in
with me, because he was mad before I even
woke up good.) Fortunately, he didn’t smell
my breath and bite me in the face. I went
ahead and bit the bullet and grabbed him right
in the middle of his body. At a rate of about 5
bites per second, it took me about 10 seconds
Photo by Karl Betz
Wrangler through the deepest water holes
to toss him out the door and let the pranksters
we could find. At least once, we almost
chase him down. While applying direct
didn’t come out.
pressure to my wounds, I crawled out into the
Just after noon, it stopped raining and
morning sun.
occasionally the sun peeked out from behind the gray
It warmed up quickly as the sun burned
overcast. Our personal total for Saturday was only 3
away the wisps of clouds left over from the previous
snakes: a DOR garter, a Black racer and a Florida
day. Both Brad Kalota and Derrick rode with me
water snake. But we also found a couple of lakes
during the first part of the morning, with our first
with large American alligators, with one 3 footer
discovery being a small Florida cottonmouth that had
found dead on the bank. (Brad Kalota looked at it
just been run over only a few minutes before. The
the next day and discovered a bullet hole through it’s
driver had also finished the snake off with a large
sinuses and it’s tail missing. Obviously, it had been
knife by the look of it. We had just passed a truck
poached.)
coming from the area only a couple of minutes prior,
I also happened to spot and videotape a
and we suspected he was the culprit.
couple of turtles on Saturday, one of which was a
Brad later transferred into Chad Minter’s
female Gulf coast box turtle. It turned out that Cyndi
vehicle, and Derrick and myself headed south on
and Karl Betz were looking for one on behalf of a
Hwy 67 to check out Tate’s Hell Swamp. Any place
zoo, and weren’t very happy with me for not bringing
with a name like that had to be interesting, and I
it back. Another interesting find was a baby turtle
wanted to experience it. On the northeastern corner
that appears to be an Eastern box turtle, which isn’t
of Tate’s Hell, there were a couple of entrances that I
supposed to range into the ANF. I got good shots of
decided to bypass, which was a mistake. However,
both the shell and the plastron and will probably let
as a result, Derrick and I ended up eating lunch at a
some turtle experts look at it in the future.
place called “The Hut” on Hwy 98 overlooking the
When Derrick and I rolled into camp on
Saturday night at around 8:30pm, Dr.
Herrington had already cooked up a huge
low country boil. Starving from being out
all day, we stuffed our faces with tasty Gulf
shrimp, kielbasa, potatoes and corn. I can’t
begin to tell you how it hit the spot, and I
didn’t even have to do any cooking. We
then moved over to the campfire ring,
where the truth-telling contest began.
Taking a running tally, our venomous
captures included 2 Eastern coral snakes,
and 2 Dusky pigmy rattlesnakes, one of
which was anerythistic. All of these snakes
Photo by Karl Betz
THE LEGEND OF TATE'S HELL...
A tale that has been told for many years recounts how
Tate's Hell Swamp got its name. Local legend has it that a
farmer by the name of Cebe Tate, armed with only a shotgun
and accompanied by his hunting dogs, journeyed into the
swamp in search of a panther that was killing his livestock.
Although there are several versions of this story, the most
common describes Tate as being lost in the swamp for seven
days and nights, bitten by a snake, and drinking from the
murky waters to curb his thirst. Finally he came to a clearing
near Carrabelle, living only long enough to murmur the
words, "My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell!"
Cebe Tate's adventure took place in 1875 and ever since,
the area has been known as Tate's Hell, the legendary and
forbidden swamp.
http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/Tates_Hell.htm
Gulf of Mexico in the town of Apalachicola.
(Seafood platter - $6.25.)
We headed back into Tate’s Hell, finding an
entrance on the southwestern corner off of Hwy 65.
Our goal was to exit on the northeastern corner at
Hwy 67, crossing Tate’s Hell diagonally and seeing
as much as we possibly could. Part of our goal did
not come to pass. The topo maps on both the
computer screen and the Florida Gazeteer both show
the exact same roads. What they don’t show are the
multiple gates that seem to have been arbitrarily
erected throughout the maze known as Tate’s Hell.
After awhile, I expected to round the corner and find
the mythical Minotaur waiting to kill us. A few
hours later, we found our way out, but did not
succeed in transversing the width of Tate’s Hell. Our
total snake encounters included: 1 Rough green
snake, 2 Black racers, and 1 Florida water snake.
We then headed back up to the ANF to
finish out the day. On the way, we met a rough
looking old hermit named George, who told us that
he had moved to Sumatra, Fl. in 1927. During our
30-minute conversation, he advised that in the past
few years, he had killed 3 Eastern diamondbacks on
his 50-acre property. He also advised that when the
rain had overflowed the riverbanks just recently,
there were more snakes crawling through his yard
than at any other time. Finally, he pointed out a road
on the map where we were most likely to encounter
Eastern diamondbacks. “Thanks for the herping tips,
George!”
Back in the ANF, Derrick and I quickly got
back down to business, knowing that this was our last
day to herp. In the last 30 minutes of daylight, we
caught 2 Peninsula ribbon snakes and 1 beautiful
Eastern coral snake, the only snake that we kept. It
was one that I have needed for a long time to include
in my snakebite lectures. Arriving back at camp, we
discovered that Sunday had been a banner day for all
who had stayed.
Early Monday morning, I awoke at 7:15 am
and ate breakfast alone, as everyone else was still
asleep. (Where’s a ticked-off Black racer when you
need one?) I was already breaking down my gear
and packing it up when the others started climbing
out of their tents. When my gear was stowed, we all
said goodbyes and I climbed into my Jeep and
headed north.
In one of life’s typical ironic twists, about
15 miles north of Bristol, Florida on Hwy 12, I
discovered a robust 5 ½ foot Eastern diamondback
dead on the shoulder of the road. I stopped to look
at it, and found that it had probably been hit about 12
to 14 hours prior; around the same time we had been
capturing our coral snake. Not out of character with
the brave souls who kill rattlesnakes with cars, the
rattles had also been neatly severed.
I sighed deeply, as I picked up the limp
carcass with my hook and tossed it off the shoulder
of the road into some high grass. “At the very
least”, I thought to myself, “it can return to the soil
without being gawked at by those who haven’t
learned to appreciate such an awesome animal.”
About the Author:
Chris Harper is a full-time
paramedic and EMS snakebite
instructor. He is also the founder
and president of the SHHS.
A short list of the animals found includes:
5(+) American Alligators, 4 Dusky Pigmy
Rattlesnakes (one was anerythristic), 3
Eastern Coral Snakes, 7(+) Black
Racers/Brown-chinned Racers, 2 Eastern
Coachwhips, 3 Florida Cottonmouths, 3
Scarlet Kingsnakes, 4 Corn Snakes, 3
Eastern Mud Turtles, 1 Yellow-bellied Slider,
3(+) Gulf Coast Box Turtles, 1 Mud Snake, 2
Florida Water Snakes, 5(+) Eastern Ribbon
Snakes, 1 Eastern Garter Snake, 1 Bullfrog, 1
Oak Toad, 1 Pig Frog, 1 Southern Leopard
Frog, tmtc Spring Peepers, tmtc neonate
toads (either southern or spadefoot), tmtc
southern toads, 2 Eastern Glass Lizards,
several fence lizards, anoles, ground skinks,
scorpions and centipedes.
More on “Teaching dogs to avoid snakes.”
By Doug Lemmons, Walker Basin,CA
In the SUMMER 2002 issue of the Southeastern
Hot Herp Society (SHHS) newsletter "RATTLE" was
an article "NEWS ITEM" "Teaching dogs to avoid
rattlesnakes" by Javier Erick Olveera. The article
was very interesting, but there were a couple of
things that I am concerned with. 1) Using venomous
snakes (that are "humanely muzzled"; 2) The
electronic collar.
By using venomous snakes, he increases his
liability to himself and his assistants in-case one of
them was to get bitten. I don't know how he
"humanely muzzled" his rattlesnakes, but, to me, that
would put the rattlesnake in an awkward/unnatural
setting/situation and I don't feel the rattlesnake would
render the same response out in the wild. As for the
electronic devise, (I did try it a couple of times and
didn't get the desired results and felt it was more
inhumane to the dog than it was beneficial.) the dogs
went right out and got bit by the snakes after the
electronic collars were removed. "Go figure?"
I have been using snakes to train dogs since 1969
in Viet Nam. I used non-venomous snakes that we
would catch while out on different missions and
worked with our combat trained dogs and dog
handlers so we wouldn't lose any of these valuable
soldiers as victims of snake bite.
After returning stateside, I continued training
dogs and their owners, using Gopher snakes
Pituophis melanoleucus catenifer and/or the different
snakes that were available in their area. Some of the
other snakes that I have use are Bullsnakes, Pine
snakes, which are Pituophis also. and water snakes
Nerodia all of which were aggressive in there
mannerisms.
I would first place the snakes out in the open field
to see if the dogs would recognize snakes as a
danger, then, I would walk the dogs on leash towards
the snakes until they saw the snake and/or heard the
snake and recognized the danger and let the dog tell
me when there was danger in my immediate area. It
is my belief that my dog is out there to protect me and
I am to protect my dog. If I live in "snake country",
then It is my responsibility to make sure my dog is
trained, not only when I'm with him, but when he is out
sniffing around for all the new smells that happen to
invade our property during the day and night, while he
is waiting for the urge to do his nature calls.
I like to do a follow-up session with the dogs every
six months or so for a year or two to re-enforce their
training and to see what kind of memory they have
after being away for a while.
Some of the people that I have worked with have
lost very valuable show/hunting dogs to rattlesnake
bite and to this day have not lost anymore dogs from
snake encounters. Every dog I have ever had has
gone through this training and most of my
neighbors/dogs as well. I have never charged
anything for this training, but with inflation the way it is
I think I might start.
I would like to find out what kind of training he
(Mr. Olveera) gave his assistants in the care and
handling of venomous snakes, what species of
rattlesnakes he used and how Mr. Olveera
"humanely muzzled" the rattlesnakes.
At no time did any of my snakes get injured, being
confronted by dogs, but most of the dogs got bit on
the nose one or two times by the non-venomous
snakes, and now they won't walk up to a stick and
smell it to see what it is unless I tell them it is okay. I
would be devastated if one of my dogs was to get bit
by a venomous snake. I would not only lose a
member of my family (if it should die) but the financial
burden that it would place on me and my family
(veterinarian expenses) that would be incurred, would
put me in the poor-house and I wouldn't be able to
afford either of these precious pets (dogs and
snakes).
If you live in "Snake Country" then I suggest you
contact your local reptile society and have someone
(work with your dogs and yourself), teach you about
snakes. I also work with people so they can
overcome their phobia of snakes, which is more
difficult than with dogs.
I am a member of the SHHS, Southwestern
Herpetologists Society (SWHS) , Founder of the Al
Robbins Chapter (SWHS) in Bakersfield, CA., (
1983), past Curator of Reptiles at the California Living
Museum (volunteer for 3 years), Founder of the Kern
Valley Reptile Society (2001), in Lake Isabella, CA
and a member of a local Reptile Rescue, Research,
Rehab, and Relocation team in Kern County,
California and a founding member of the Annual
Reptile Celebration held on June 14th & 15th 2003
at the Audubon California, Kern River Preserve in
Weldon, California.
If anyone is interested in having their dogs go
through this type of training, I would be more than
happy to assist them. I do not recommend you go
out and catch snakes to try this on your own unless
you have studied reptiles and are comfortable in
handling live reptiles.
Contact Info:
Doug Lemmons
Walker Basin, CA
PH: 661-867-4512
[email protected]
Beautimus Crotalus molossus!!!
By Jeff Miller
The Northern black-tailed rattlesnake- Crotalus
molossus molossus of the American Sowthwest,
ranging from central Texas, West through New
Mexico and most of Arizona, and South into Mexico,
is arguably one of the most beautiful and variable
species of rattlesnake North America. There are
"Texas Blue" phases, "S.E Arizona High-yellow"
phases, and a "Desert" phase, at least to those who
have seen many blacktails. These rattlesnakes, no
matter what 'phase' they are, are striking in
appearance with a contrast of a olive, green, blue-ish,
grey, golden or yellow base and light brown to
chocolate to dark brown and deep black dorsal
blotching and a face mask, giving the appearance of a
snake that has been decorated in Apache war paint.
Of course that tail, hence the name, is normally solid
black from the
rattles to the
vent.
Adult
black-tails can
range from
around 30
inches up to 48
inches, and
can either be
thick, fairly
heavy bodied
to somewhat
slim and long,
depending on
the locality.
The general
but decidedly
unscientific
rule seems to
be that the
animals from
higher elevations tend to be heavier bodied and more
colorful, and I can attest to that with the molossus I've
found and seen in Arizona.
Being such amazingly attractive snakes through
much of their range, black-tailed rattlers are often well
sought as captives. They are produced in captivity
regularly, but captive bred babies are usually hard to
come by. I am under the impression that there are
relatively few keepers out there who have either
mastered the propogation of captive molossus, or
have been lucky enough to end up with a hungry,
horny pair. These are the keepers who will regularly
produce captive offspring, and there isn't many of
them. Each year, a few wild-caught molossus seem to
hit the scene, and in my opion, they are usually the
easier-to-find but less attractive 'desert' phased
animals from AZ, NM, or west TX. We rarely see the
brilliantly-colored yellow and black animals from S.E.
Arizona or the steely blue/ black hotties from Texas
offered for sale, and I can only make more
assumptions about why that is as well. But then we
would be getting into discussion the habits of
commercial collectors, and commercial collecting is
either illigal in some states, or simply too controversial
a subject to get into here. But I will venture to say this:
the desert-phase, lower-elevation populations of
C.molossus are far more likely to be encountered on
paved roads, and relatively close to civilization, which
also happens to be where you can find most visiting
herpers looking to collect reptiles for whatever reason.
Sparing any sort of social statement here, I will simply
say that the animals I have worked hardest to find
have been rewardingly beautiful, no matter what they
happened to 'look' like.
As with many fairly specialized species of
rattlesnake,
wild-caught
captive
black-tails can
often be difficult
to acclimate
and often
present quite a
challenge as
regular feeders,
even to
experienced
Crotalid
keepers. We
should keep in
mind here that
some
populations of
molossus seem
to be, more or
less,
'specialists' in
the academic sense of the word, and then there are
the localities that have populations representing more
generalist types of behaviors. The latter just happen
to be the same populations that seem to most often
provide us with captives. This is a good thing for
captive molossus, but still doesn't let us keepers off
the hook. Black-tailed rattlesnakes, wherever they
come from, may very likely be difficult to acclimate.
Obviously parasite load can be a contributing factior,
and I would recommend that any WC black-tail be
treated appropriately for parasites. Even after a
'successful' period of acclimation, these rattlesnakes
may be sporadic feeders. I have often speculated that
wild C.molossus may only eat a few times during a
good year, but I haven't researched this idea ny
further than that. Nor have I began to speculate as to
why a captive snake refuses a meal one session, and
readily accepts a meal the next.
When it comes to prey and food animals, wild
molossus are predominantly rodent eaters, from mice
to packrats and squirrels, and surely young rabbits
when available. Once a wild-caught black-tail is in
captivity, a keeper may realize that C.molossus
seems to be VERY particular about their food choices
when it comes to the senses, most notably that of
smell and sight. I doubt I have ever heard of a newly
aquired WC black-tailed rattlesnake that has accepted
a white domestic mouse or rat as a first meal as a
captive. In the ecperience of several keepers I have
communicated with, and mine as well, newly aquired
molossus may not accept prekilled prey either. This
leaves a few options. First, for those who reside in
areas where wild rodents can be obtained,
mice and wood rats can be trapped, and
roadkilled rodents in good condition can be
collected and frozen for later use. The most
obvious and most reliable meal for a
captive meal will be a wild rodent,
preferrably some desert or mountain
species, or an animal that resembles such
species. We have had great luck getting
acclimating adult black-tails who have
refused every other option to take domestic
gerbils. Hamsters may work fairly well too,
and of course one can always try live
domestic mice of any color other than white.
Keep in mind that the above is mentioned in
cases in which a captive molossus is
proving to be difficult to acclimate and get
feeding. Once my black-tails have eaten a
couple meals as descrined, suddenly they
no longer seem to mind white domestic mice or rats.
Go figure. But they still may fast for long periods, and
I have had to start over with the feeding games, once
again having to feed a long term captive snake wild
rodents again.
As with other WC rattlesnakes, adults specimens
are usually harder to acclimate than younger animals,
although the most trouble I've had was with a yearling
youngster from the Chiricahua mountains. After
maybe nine months of refusing every type of prey item
I could think of, and including a period of broomation,
that little snake unexpectedly consumed a couple of
prekilled domestic mice without issue.
Once acclimated, and if temporary enclosures
were utilized during that period, perminant caging is in
order. Because black-tails are relatively large snakes,
they will require relatively large quarters. As with any
species of Crotalid in captivity, a hide is strongly
recommended, and clean water should be available at
all times.
Again as with other rattlesnakes, as long as
appropriate space is provided, C.molossus can be
maintained in very simple enclosures or rack-systems,
with newspaper or other types of readily available
subtrate options. However, I am one of those fanatical
types that considers my enclosures to be a small
piece of the environment from which a speciman
originated. But then again I am lucky enough to live
within molossus range and have fairly easy access to
many types of substrates and litter that would be
present in the environment of wild molossus. For
those of you who don't live anywhere near black-tailed
habitat (and most people don't), remember that
black-tails reside in habitat ranging from low-elevation,
rocky-desert scrub and bajada up into juniper-spotted,
grassy, hilly mountainous regions, on up to
alpine-type pine/ oak forests. I have discovered that
my favorite natural substrate for my molossus is a
sand base covered with a nice thick layer of oak
leaves, some pine cones, and a few small sticks. A
rock pile over an appropriate diameter lenth of PVC
pipe ensures great seclusion in a very
naturally-appearing setting. The benifit to a simplistic
set up, of course, is the ease in maintanence and
saftey. With a naturalistic cage, you just think about it
a bit differently. The snakes stay in the enclosure
unless I absolutely have to remove them for some
reason. I scoop the poop I can see with a scoop
attached to a long rod. I keep a large bowl of water
right at the front of the front-opening enclosure for
easy access. I have multiple animals in the same
cages, and if and when I need to change the
substrate of perform more serious cleaning, I simply
hook and remove the animals I can get to, put them in
secure temporary confinement, and wait for the others
to come out of hiding before I do the same with them.
Sure, it takes a bit longer, but who needs to rush
when handling venomous snakes anyway?
Once acclimated, adult black-tails seems to breed
fairly readily, and do not present any notable
difficulties in terms of reproduction. In the wild, female
C.molossus may not breed until they are 3 to 5 years
old, and seem to skip a year or two between litters.
There has been some very notable data from a few
researchers that newborn neonates will spend their
first few weeks with their mother, and she seems to
protect them. I'm sure there are more details available
if one is so inclined to search for them. I would
recommend reading anything written by Harry Green
on the topic of C.molossus.
My captive black-tailed rattlesnakes have proven to
be very rewarding and exceedingly beautiful captives,
even if they do tend to take a lot more work and
patience to acclimate than many other Crotalid
species. I certainly would not recommend C.molossus
as good beginner species, but if you have some
decent experience with Crotalids, you may be ready
for your first black-tail! ~JM
News Item:
Snakebite results in charges
Venomous cottonmouth was allowed to roam free in
man's Annapolis house
By Julie Bykowicz, Sun Staff, March 15, 2003
The Annapolis man whose pet cottonmouth snake bit
his girlfriend last week was charged late Thursday
with reckless endangerment and importing a
venomous snake into the state.
Devin D. Conley, 29, told Maryland Natural
Resources Police that the snake was roaming free in
his house "to get some exercise" when it emerged
from newspapers on a coffee table and sank its fangs
into Jacqueline L. Lee's left thumb.
"It was a dumb thing to do," Conley told
police, according to charging documents. He said he
brought the snake from Florida in the fall.
Lee, a 21-year-old Annapolis resident, was
rushed to Anne Arundel Medical Center late March 5,
where she was given antivenin. She said her left arm
was badly swollen and her thumb was covered in a
blood blister.
She was released Monday, a hospital
spokeswoman said.
Conley was arrested late Thursday, said
John Surrick, a spokesman for the Department of
Natural Resources. He was released on his own
recognizance yesterday after a bail review hearing.
His bail originally had been set at $50,000.
Because he had experience with poisonous
snakes - and had been bitten several times himself he was not too concerned about the dangers of a
cottonmouth, charging documents state.
Conley told police he had no other snakes at
the home, but that he does have a three-foot lizard
that roams free. No other details on the lizard were
available.
Lee said last week that she will continue to
date Conley.
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.
snake15mar15,0,610819.story?coll=bal-local-arun
CLOSE CALL WITH A
RATTLESNAKE
by Doug Lemmons, Walker Basin, CA.
While traveling from Walker Basin across the "Lions
Trail" headed for Bakersfield to visit my wife in the hospital, I
came across a 2 ½ foot rattlesnake on the edge of the
pavement and decided to stop and help it off the road before
someone came along and ran over it. When I first touched
the snake with a stick, it coiled and struck at me, just missing
my leg about 3 inches. If I hadn't had the stick between me
and the snake, I would have been bitten. The strike hit the
stick and venom shot out of both fangs and sprayed me from
the knees and up over my head. As the venom crossed my
face, some went into my left eye and I had immediate
burning and pain in my left eye.
Since the eye is covered with mucous membrane, the
effect of the venom was almost like getting bit. I immediately
(within 30 seconds) flushed my eye with water for several
minutes and continued on to Bakersfield, but this time I was
headed for the hospital to get treatment for snakebite. As I
continued, I came across other snakes on the road and
stopped and caught them so they wouldn't get ran over. The
encounter with the rattler was at 7:00 p.m. and I arrived at
the hospital at 7:45 p.m. My eye was as red as a beet and
the burning pain had increased 10 fold. There was some
swelling under my lower eyelid and redness around my left
eye socket. I told the first lady (Hospital Employee) that I
had been bitten by a rattlesnake and she told me to sign in at
the front desk at the emergency room and have a chair. I did
that and another 30 minutes went by and they still hadn't
called my name. I went back to the front desk and told
another lady (a Nurse) and this time I got some fast results.
She immediately took my blood pressure, pulse, and
temperature and admitted me to the Emergency Room and
had a Doctor examine me within one minute. Another Nurse
started an I-V in my left arm and gave me a shot of Benedryl
for any allergic reaction I might have from the venom. The
Doctors and Nurses came around and checked on me every
few minutes for about five ½ hours and the swelling had not
increased, but the pain had increased a little, and my vision
in my left eye was not very good. The attending Physician
decided to release me around 12:30 a.m. and told me to see
my family doctor and an Eye Doctor the next day.
After being checked by my personal doctor and
the eye doctor, it was determined that there would be very
little damage done to my eye and my vision returned to
normal within 24 hours. By the way, I had to drive an hour
back home that night, back to Bakersfield the next day and
then to West L.A. to the Veteran's Hospital to see the eye
doctor. The trip went fine and I’m very happy with the
outcome of the whole incident.
For those of you that like to stop and move snakes
off the road, just remember you don't have to get bitten to get
“envenomated” by a snake. Venom coming in contact with a
mucous membrane and/or open wound (scratch or cut on
the skin) can be very similar to being bitten and needs to be
treated by a Physician as soon as possible, especially if it’s
neurotoxic. If the venom had entered into a cut on my skin,
then I could've been in for even more complications.
Of Capuchins and Eyelash Vipers: Herping in Costa Rica
by Thomas Eimermacher
Costa Rica has one of the richest and most
herpetologically significant fauna collections
worldwide. Approximately 400 species of reptiles and
amphibians are found in a country that is the third
smallest in Central America. It is one of the few places
in the world, where the combination of nature and
tourism has not yet resulted in massive habitat
destruction, as the ecotourism plays a crucial role in
the ‘tico’ economy. It was all the more exciting when I
received the opportunity to spend some time in Costa
Rica, working at a federally recognized serpentarium
and exploring the natural treasures that the country’s
fauna has to offer. Anyone who has ever visited the
country can attest to its beauty and ecological
diversity.
With just 51,100km2 of landmass, only Belize
and El Salvador
are smaller in size
than Costa Rica.
The distances
within the country
are accordingly
small, and one can
travel from one
side to the other in
just a few hours,
using the relatively
efficient bus transit
system.
Ecologically, Costa
Rica may be
divided into five
physiographic
regions, which
include the
Caribbean lowlands
in the north, the
interior highlands,
the central plateau, the plains and tropical dry forests
of the Guanacaste Province in the northwest, and the
southern Pacific lowlands in the southwest. There are
about 133 species of snakes found in Costa Rica, and
17 of those are known to be venomous. The majority
of these inhabit the lowland areas of the country, while
species like the side-striped palm-pitviper (Bothriechis
lateralis) and the black-speckled palm-pitviper
(Bothriechis nigroviridis) are found in the montaine
forests.
One trip led me to the Limon Province on the
Caribbean coast. I spent several days herping in the
Cahuita National Park, which stretches 2,600 acres
along the beach. This beautiful park features a great
assortment of wildlife and natural wonders, such as
coconut groves, coral reefs, and blue waters. It also
offers a great abundance of reptiles and amphibians.
Among others, it is known to be a prime habitat for
eyelash vipers (Bothriechis schlegelii), or oropels, as
they are commonly referred to by the “ticos”.
Observing this species was part of my primary focus
on this trip.
My probably most adventurous experience in
Cahuita occurred on the second day of my stay there.
I had been herping since the early morning, and had
observed a variety of animals, ranging from
white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) to iguanas
(Iguana iguana). The capuchins were quite abundant
and rather fresh at times, indicating that they had
been fed by visitors. I had also heard the roars of a
nearby troop of howling monkeys (Allouata palliata)
earlier, a sound that is quite powerful and rather
impressive to hear. It was about mid-afternoon now,
and I had taken a break from herping, and decided to
spend the heat of the day relaxing at the beach. The
setting was most
convenient, as the
forest literally
borders the white
beaches. When
the hottest time of
the day had
passed, and the
few naturalists
were returning to
their cabins, I
decided to take
another walk
through the forest,
to see if I would
get a glimpse at
some more
interesting
animals. Earlier
that day, I had
been able to
observe a
neonate Boa constrictor imperator catching and
swallowing an adult bronze-backed climbing skink
(Mabuya unimarginata), immediately followed by a
adult golden eyelash viper resting on a branch. Both
specimens had to undergo extensive photography
sessions, but remained otherwise untouched. It was
now about two hours before sundown, and the park
was about to close for the day. As I made my way
down the trail, I encountered several naturalists that
were on their way out of the park. Two of them, a
German traveler and a Costa Rican naturalist, I had
met earlier, and they decided to join me in anticipation
of observing some snakes. We walked for
approximately 30 minutes, when I suddenly spotted
another golden eyelash viper resting on a plant at
about shoulder height. This was another beautiful
specimen, and I was now kicking myself for having
brought my camera back to the cabin prematurely. My
two fellow herpers were also very much put in awe by
the beauty of this animal. Despite its rather distinctive
coloration, the snake was blending into its
environment amazingly well, and remained cryptically
concealed, yet remarkably exposed at the same time.
Still fussing about the camera being at the cabin, we
continued to walk, and it was barely 10 minutes later,
that I spotted yet another golden eyelash viper resting
on a palm tree at about chest height. This specimen
was even more beautiful than the previous one, and
its setting would have made for an attractive
photograph. I was now desperate for my camera, but
we were far over an hour walk from the cabin, and
there was no way to get there and return with the
camera before darkness. And even if I did make it
back before complete darkness, it was highly unlikely
that I would find the snakes again, even if they did not
move. However, I felt strangely obsessed with
photographing these specimens, and decided to run
to the cabin and back, and to take pictures with
whatever light may remain at that time. My two fellow
herpers gladly offered to wait by the animals, which
would make my chances of finding them again
significantly higher, while I sprinted through the
woods, sending iguanas dashing for safety from the
perceived threat. I knew that lighting was going to be
crucial for the shots, and the image of an obsessed
herper running through the woods certainly left the
capuchins wondering about the mental state of said
person. Nevertheless, I arrived at the cabin, grabbed
the camera, changed my soaking-wet shirt, and made
my way back to the park. With a meager excuse, I
convinced the park guard to give me a few minutes in
the park, which was now officially closed to visitors.
As I was running back to the spot where my two
friends and – hopefully – the two eyelash vipers were
waiting for me, the sun was going down at a speedy
rate, and my hopes of arriving at the spot with enough
light left for photography were decreasing. It was now
getting darker by the minute, and within a short period
of time, I could hardly see the trail in front of me. After
what appeared to be just a few minutes, darkness
completely surrounded me, and there was hardly
enough light ton see the way, much less for decent
photography.
I finally arrived at the spot where my two friends
were waiting, who – much to my dismay – had moved
from the snakes to another spot, where they had seen
“something” earlier in the day. Through a combination
of luck and bizarre circumstances, we somehow
managed to find both specimens again, who had
remained at the spot where we had originally
discovered them. However, it was now nearly
pitch-black dark, and I could not even see the animals
in the viewfinder of the camera. None of us had been
equipped for night herping that day, so we did not
have a flashlight at hand either. The only available
item that was of use turned out to be a cigarette
lighter, which my German friend was able to supply
from his backpack. Holding the lighter in one hand
and the camera in the other, I began taking pictures of
the snakes while trying to keep both hands out of
striking range. This was easier said than done, as it
was otherwise completely dark, and the mosquitoes
had meanwhile opened season on anyone crazy
enough to be in the woods at night. I was also all too
aware of the risks associated with holding a lit flame
within a few inches of a pitviper, but I was determined
to get some decent shots of the two animals as
exchange for all the hassle I had put upon myself in
the process. After a brief photography session with
each animal, we decided to head back to the cabins,
as the mosquitoes were starting to carry us away.
During our walk back, we each shared some of
our personal adventures that we had experienced
while traveling other countries. Unfortunately, my
various stories involving snakes in the wild made my
two non-herper friends feel a bit uneasy, considering
that we were walking deep through prime Terciopelo
(Bothrops asper) habitat, and they were glad when we
finally reached the cabins without
incident.
About the Author:
Thomas Eimermacher is the recent
recipient of an MBA from the
University of New Orleans.
“Safety Tip of the Quarter”
The safety tip of this quarter is the tip of this thumb.
This is what’s left after a Prairie rattlesnake bite. This could
definitely interfere with your ability to hitchhike. ~CH
Rhinoceros Vipers in Captivity
By Matthew T. Crews
[email protected]
Introduction:
The Rhinoceros Viper, Bitis nasicornis, is a very
colorful ambush predator found in the rain forests of
Africa. They get their common name from their two to
three pairs of nostril scales “horns”. Sometimes they
are referred to as the “River Jack” because of their
semi-aquatic nature, they are often found near rivers
and streams. The Rhinoceros Viper is a stout snake
with an average size of 2 ½ to 3 ½ feet with some
individuals reaching 4 feet in length.
Housing:
I house newborns to juveniles in small opaque
plastic boxes with
paper towels for
substrate and a
water bowl.
Newborns need to
be soaked every
two weeks for
several hours to
insure proper
hydration. I keep
sub-adults to adults
in medium size
enclosures
measuring 3 feet
long by 1 ½ feet
deep and 1 foot
high. I use a
substrate of
sani-chips and a
water bowl with
fresh water at all times; the bowl should be shallow
and large to allow easy access and prevent spills. The
room in which they are kept is temperature controlled
with a daytime temp of 80 to 82 degrees with a
nighttime drop to 76 to 78 degrees.
Feeding:
Newborns will usually take pinky mice after their
first shed, and although some may hold out for a week
or so, most will start eating without any trouble. After
they do start eating, food is offered every 7 to 10 days
for the first two years. After two years of age, I skip
approximately every fifth feeding. The amount of food
offered must be adjusted according to body weight.
They are a robust snake, but can quickly go from
being heavy bodied to obese. Obesity can lead to fatty
liver disease and unwillingness to breed.
Breeding:
Rhinoceros Vipers in my experience have not
proved difficult to breed, although I do things quite
contrary to their natural habitat, besides keeping a
semi-aquatic rain forest animal mostly dry; I also
breed them at the wrong time of the year. Beginning
the first week in December, the temp is slowly
decreased to the low 60’s. This temp is maintained for
approximately four weeks. During this time food is not
offered, but fresh water is available at all times. Care
is taken to disturb them as little as possible. In early
January they are slowly warmed up to their normal
temp. Seven to ten days after being warmed feeding
is resumed. A few days after their first meal the male
is placed into the females’ enclosure, mating will
usually occur almost immediately. Separate them for
feeding, then reintroduce the male a few days after
feeding, reintroduce the male several times to insure
a successful breeding. During separation from the
female, the male may become very active moving
constantly about his
enclosure.
Whenever this
behavior is noticed,
place the male back
with the female and
mating will usually
take place
immediately. If a
successful breeding
has taken place, the
gravid female will
continue to take
food up to July. At
this point she will be
very noticeably
gravid. And a clean
hide box should be
offered for her to
give birth in. A few days after her shed in mid August
she will give birth.
Notes:
Let me start by saying that I know that the way I
keep Rhinoceros Vipers is contrary to the way most
people keep them. I am not saying they are wrong, I
just know what has worked for me. I have been
keeping this species for many years and have been
very successful in breeding them. Also, it is my
opinion that a major factor in my success is captive
born stock. Wild caught imports do not fare well in
captivity, often succumbing to parasites and stress.
Conclusion:
For the advanced venomous keeper, the
Rhinoceros Viper with its gorgeous coloration has to
be one of the most spectacular snakes on earth. They
have a relatively calm disposition and can be handled
with two hooks fairly easily; although care must be
taken when moving due to their heavy bodies. And no
matter how beautiful they may be, we must not forget
they have highly toxic venom and can deliver a deadly
bite very efficiently.
Bothrops asper:
A collection of captive care notes
By Sierra
The home range of the asper ranges from
In my opinion, Bothrops asper is one of the most
northwestern Mexico, southward to which it extends
spectacular species in the entire world and is one of
from Mexico to Ecuador. Countries within this range
my personal favorites. Yet, it is probably also one of
are Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
the most over looked. It has a reputation as being a
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,
psychotic, unpredictable snake, but this is not entirely
and its presence is questionable in Venezuela. It
true. However, I would recommend that only very
occupies mainly tropical rainforest and tropical
experienced keepers maintain this species. I would
further recommend that shift boxes be used, as it is by evergreen forest, but is also found in dryer regions of
tropical deciduous forest, thorn forest and pine
far the safest way to deal with them, as well as many
savannah in near proximity to rivers, streams or lakes.
other species of venomous snakes. And it is much
Often also found in agricultural areas and plantations
less stressful on the animal. With aspers, shift boxes
it can thrive
totally
in nearly all
prevent the
habitats (it is
explosion
one of the
that they are
most
famous for
abundant
when
pitvipers in
disturbed.
the world). It
On most
is mainly
occasions an
nocturnal,
asper will sit
spending the
motionless
day hidden
until you
among
physically
roots, leaf
contact it in
litter or other
some way,
similar
however if
locations. It
you happen
has several
to bump it
names from
with your
Lancehead
hook it will
to Barba
explode into
amarilla and
a spastic
Fer-de-lance
missile,
but one of
usually in the
Our largest female asper, 91.5 inches in length and 12 lbs-3 oz. Photo by Sierra
the most
opposite
commonly
direction of the
used names is most likely Terciopelo. It also varies
disturbance. Aspers are also known to ambush their
greatly in size within its range with the some of the
pursuers (…by initially fleeing then doing a lightning
largest specimens located near Manzanillo, Limon
quick 180 and waiting for the pursuer to get within
province Costa Rica (this is the locale of our 2.2
striking range. This has been noted by several
neonates). Coloring can vary slightly among the
herpetologists such as Harry Greene and Dean Ripa).
locales as well. The size of Bothrops asper, especially
I have witnessed this personally, it is quite startling,
females, is one of its most amazing features. Asper
and you could be in real trouble if unprepared for this
females are a thick- bodied snake, extremely
tactic. Another tactic it uses is to strike its head just
powerful, and one of the largest/heaviest bodied
past its target, then double back quickly twisting its
venomous snakes in the world. Adult females may
neck to catch the prey from behind. A quote from
reach a body weight in excess of 13 lbs perhaps even
Dean Ripa “By my estimation, the world’s most
reaching up to 22lbs. Max. reported length is 8.2 feet,
dangerous viper to catch.” Our personal experience
with unconfirmed reports of 9.8 feet but average is
with this species is relatively new. We have
most likely around 6’. It is very possible that an unbred
maintained a large adult female for nearly a year now
female could reach nearly ten feet in captivity. Our
and just recently purchased 2.2 cb neonates from
largest female is currently a three year old CB, with a
Dean Ripa.
length of 91.5
inches and a
weight of 12
lbs-3oz. Aspers
are sexually
dimorphic, perhaps
more so than any
other snake in the
world. Females
are much larger
and can reach
more than ten
times the size of a
male from the
same litter. Any
Terciopelo
reaching or
exceeding 6.5 feet
is definitely female.
In an adult male of
B.aspers approximate home range indicated by arrows pointing to contiguous color. thanks WW)
equal length to an
adult female, the
and one year of age. At this time females begin to
female’s head will be twice or even three times larger,
overtake the males in size.
with much larger venom glands and fangs. The
Sexing neonates is quite easy as the males will
size-difference is not noticeable in neonates and is
have yellow caudal luring tail tips and females will not,
not visible until the males have reached about half
however both sexes will utilize caudal luring
their reproductive age somewhere between 7 months
techniques and this can be useful in establishing
feeding.
Temperament of an asper has
mythological attributes and most
people fear and respect them
greatly, including many venomous
herp enthusiast that I have talked to.
Aspers may strike repeatedly from
any body position, requires no fixed
coil, and strikes at movement as well
as heat. These snakes are
extremely fast and agile. When
threatened it will vibrate its tail and
also expand itself to appear larger.
Mostly a shy snake, it will try to
escape but if it feels cornered, this
nervous snake is extremely
dangerous.
I have found aspers to be fairly
easy to maintain (notice I said
maintain, not handle), but of course
it depends on the animal and
individual your dealing with. Wc
aspers can be difficult to get feeding
especially neonates. Anoles may be
one of the first foods to be taken and
using scenting techniques you can
easily switch them over to pinkies.
Pre breeding conditioning seems
to be quite simple with perhaps not
much more than an increase in
Cb Neonate fromCosta Rica -Siquirres, Limon Province locale.
humidity and several introductions
photo by Matt Harris
Our new arrival in
a quarantine
enclosure. We
strictly adhere to
quarantining our
new animals in a
separate room
and in its own
enclosure.
Photo by Sierra
at a slightly lower temp. Bothrops reach sexual
maturity at around 1.5 years and are live bearing,
annually. Males can mate successfully with several
females many times over many months. In a typical
breeding season in the wild, aspers will breed
approximately in March-May and bear the young in
November-December (Caribbean side of Costa Rica)
or depending on locale, breed in August-October and
young are born in May-July (pacific side of Costa
Rica), again these are approx. depending on locale.
Aspers can have huge litters and up to 80-100 young
have been reported but the average seems to be
around 30 or so. Temperatures should be lowered to
around to 68-73.5F for short periods to induce
courtship. Male combat has been observed in
Terciopelos. Typical duration of pregnancy is between
180–240 days. Males usually stop feeding at the
beginning of the reproductive cycle, while the female
will usually continue feeding into her third month of
pregnancy, she will then most likely not feed at all or
maybe rarely for about 6 months. Females require
increased feeding during the 4-6 months after the
young are born to replenish themselves. Females
growth will taper off after breeding due to the stress
exerted on her body. Also worth noting is what seems
to be a common occurrence, a few of the neonates
die around 2-3 months of age even if they have been
feeding and doing well. While I have not had the
pleasure of breeding them yet (next year will be the
first year that our males will be mature enough to
mate) very experienced asper keepers have
mentioned this phenomenon to me. It has been
suggested that this is just natural selection but
perhaps there is some bacterial, environmental,
physiological or other cause such as stress, it will be
interesting to learn more information about this. Eye
infections seem to be common among neonates as
well, especially on a substrate that is too moist. This
infection will blind them and eventually kill them.
Sphagnum
moss may well be the most suitable substrate for
neonates to help avoid this problem, while closely
monitoring how moist the substrate is.
Caging requirements aren’t very complicated and
aspers can be kept very basic. Terciopelos are quite
agile climbers as well and love to bask on branches
provided for them, however this can also be a
hindrance in dealing with them, the more clutter in the
cage the more you have to contend with while dealing
with the animal. Normal lighting cycles can be used.
Temps should be around 76-82 degrees F daytime
with a drop to no lower than 68-72 at night and they
are prone to regurgitation if temperatures are too high
or too low. Also aspers will utilize a basking spot if
provided. A once a week misting with an increase
around shed time will usually suffice. Although I
haven’t found humidity to be critical for the adults (our
hot room is kept around 60% relative humidity), a
friend of mine has had a specimen with difficult and
sticking eyecaps…and it can be quite a task to
remove them. If needed, soaking may be utilized to
help deal with this situation, but in his case it became
so severe that it required anesthesia. Aspers drink
lots of water so use a large dish to provide it.
Pre-killed rodent prey is teased fed and adult aspers
aren’t particularly fussy eaters. For the most part they
don’t use their fangs while eating, they kinda walk
down the prey item like a python would. Feeding at
night may be required for finicky neonates but most
adults will feed readily during the day. They can and
will consume large amounts of food so caution must
be used in maintaining a proper and healthy weight for
them. I would recommend feeding neonates
proportional meals every 7-10 days and adults every
14-28 days (tip: you can monitor this by carefully
charting the bowel movements and this will give you a
general idea of their metabolism).
a bad situation to say the least.
Symptoms include, local effects
including pain, severe swelling,
bruising, blistering, and necrosis.
Antivenom is fairly effective, however,
tissue necrosis is quite severe and
many individuals bitten lose various
parts of the extremities. Amputations
are common, even in parts of the body
away from the envenomation site. For
example, several individuals bitten in
the upper extremities required the
amputation of toes or even an entire
foot.
In conclusion, the Bothrops asper
is one of the most spectacular snakes
in the world (at least in my biased
opinion). Although relatively easy to
maintain, it is an extremely agile and
dangerous animal that should be kept
only by very experienced keepers. If
you plan to add this species to your
Our B. asper hiding in her shift box. We use shift boxes with a solid opening
collection it may be advisable to seek
top and secondary barrier of 1/4" clear Lucite that can be slid back for easy
out another experienced keeper to
access.
Photo by Sierra
help you to become familiar with them.
I would also suggest that you maintain
Use caution when purchasing, especially
your own supply of antivenom as well as a emergency
online. Many times they are confused with Bothrops
plan and bite protocol printed out and ready if needed.
atrox (also commonly called Fer-de lance). It is best to The Instituto Clodomiro Picado in San Jose, Costa
avoid purchasing WC asper and the best way to
Rica produces a polyvalent antivenom that is effective
ensure success is to purchase cb neonates and even
on Bothrops asper, Lachesis stenophrys, Crotalus
better if they are at least 6 mo-1 year old (this may
durissus which costs about 25.00 a vial and it is more
cost you a bit more but is well worth it to ensure
effective than US antivenoms. It may be suitable to
success). Wc babies tend to be harder to establish
keep 15-20 vials on hand. And it goes without
and have a higher mortality rate. As well as the need
saying, use secure caging, preferably within a snake
to treat them for parasites. Also another special
proof room.
consideration when shipping aspers is that if the knot
in the bag or pillow case is resting on the snake's
head, it can actually stress the snake into placing its
head under its body coils and cause suffocation.
Aspers also have huge fangs, with an adult length
of around 1 ¼”-1 ½” in an asper with a length of 78-84
inches and can even reach 2 inches in large females.
They also produce large quantities of primarily
hemotoxic venom with an intraperitoneal LD50 of
2.844 mg/kg, putting it between Crotalus mitchelli
pyrrhus (2.7 mg/kg) and Tropidolaemus wagleri (3.58
mg/kg). The intravenous LD50 is 1.244 mg/kg, the
same as Crotalus durissus durissus. However,
B.asper’s bite has a low mortality rate of only 1-2%
even though it has a high venom yield. Although in
most cases asper bites don’t seem to be life
threatening, more information is needed, because
most reported bites within its range are bites by
smaller specimens. Also people native to the aspers
The upper left above the dime is a 3' Crotalus h. horridus
habitat tend to lump all the snakes in the area
fang. All others are various B. asper fangs . Largest is
together in their descriptions (often confusing it with
around 1 ¼" along the curvature.
the Bushmaster), so info is unclear on large asper
Photo by Matt Harris
envenomations. A bite from an adult asper would be
I would love to hear anyone
else’s experiences with aspers,
post them in the forum if you’d like
to share info on them.
Although not directly related
to this article, I might also add that
in order to keep the “right” to
maintain venomous reptiles as well
as all other reptiles, more of us
need to take a proactive role in
preserving our interests. Get
involved and help make a
difference. Contribute in any way
that you can. And show the
community, that we can be a
respectable, trust worthy group,
and maybe “the powers that be”
won’t take away our ability to
maintain these magnificent
creatures.
I would like to give special
appreciation and thanks to Matt
Harris for his extremely kind
sharing of knowledge in regards to
this species, he has been great in
sharing info, pictures, and tips with
me on B.asper for nearly a
year….Thanks Matt!!!
Additional source of info:
The Bushmasters (Genus Lachesis
Daudin 1803) Morphology in
Evolution and Behavior. Dean
Ripa……. Ripa Ecologica
Bothrops asper ( Terciopelo ) from Belize
Original photo copyright © Dr Wolfgang Wuster
EXPO ’03 June 28-29th Bristol, VA
A Venomous Event
Holiday Inn Convention Center - Take Exit 7 off I-81
Show Hours Are: Saturday 10-7 -- Sunday 10-5
Admission:$7 one day,$12 two day, 5 and under FREE
Military and Civil Service Personnel with ID $5
Guest Speakers: Jim Harrison, Director of The Kentucky Reptile Zoo
Roark Ferguson, Owner of Roarks Reptile Safari
Mike Fost, Monitor Lizard Expert for Zoo Atlanta
Alan Bosch, Owner of Alan Bosch Reptiles
For more info: www.animalads.info
“Are there Cottonmouths in Chattanooga?”
By Chuck Hurd
www.SCReptiles.com
Agkistrodon piscivorus
(translation: hooked-tooth fish
eater) is a semi-aquatic North
American pit viper with three
recognized subspecies:
Agkistrodon piscivorus
leucostoma (western),
Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti
(Florida), and the Agkistrodon
piscivorus piscivorus (eastern.)
Adults average 30 – 48 inches
in length with the record
specimen being 74.5 inches.
(Side note: The Nashville Zoo
has an exaggerated specimen on
display for anyone interested in
this species.) Adults tend to be
dark or even black in coloration
with obscure back markings.
Juveniles, however, tend to be
of very bright copper to yellow
color with dominate back
markings. Young piscivorus is
often mistaken for its cousin,
Agkistrodon contortrix
(copperhead.)
Agkistrodon piscivorus is
often called “cottonmouth” due to its defensive display of
coiling its body, looking up, and holding open its mouth,
displaying an almost solid white interlining. Piscivorus
eats both warm and cold blooded prey. Their diet includes
fish, frogs, salamander, lizards, small turtles, baby
alligators, birds, small mammals and other snakes. Prey
such as frogs, fish and other snakes are held in the jaws
after captured for a few moments to allow them to succumb
to the venom. Mammals are struck and then instantly
released. If the victim flees before the venom takes effect,
the cottonmouth tracks it by scent. For many years there
has been a debate among herpetologists and the general
public concerning the native range of Agkistrodon p.
piscivorus. Most long time residents of the Chattanooga,
TN area have a story to tell about an encounter with this
infamous serpent, however most herpetologists write off
these accounts as urban legend or mistaken identity. There
are certain water snakes native to Chattanooga that mimic
the venomous cottonmouth and to a layperson these snakes
could easily be mistaken for Agkistrodon p. piscivorus. But
are all of the encounters mistaken identities?
Most herpetologists agree that Agkistrodon p.
piscivorus is not indigenous to Chattanooga, TN; however,
there is not 100 % consensus. Some herpetologists,
including myself, hold that Agkistrodon p. piscivorus may
very well inhabit Chattanooga in limited numbers. The
National Audubon Society is recognized as the standard for
North American reptile range maps. Audubon lists
piscivorus as indigenous west, east, and south of
Chattanooga. The official Audubon map shows the
piscivorus range to form a U-shape around Chattanooga,
with the animals being native to the northwest Georgia and
northeast Alabama but not southeastern Tennessee.
In late 2002 an article ran in the Chattanooga Times
Free Press in the Outdoors section. The author claimed to
have encountered two specimens of Agkistrodon p.
piscivorus on the Tennessee River just across the Alabama
state line, about 15 river miles from Chattanooga. The old
debate over the piscivorus range was rekindled.
Naturalist, Kyle Waggener of the Chattanooga
Nature Center (www.ChattaNature.org) told me in an
interview that he has not seen evidence that piscivorus is
thriving in Chattanooga; however he sees no natural
boundaries that would prevent this species from
propagating in the area. The Tennessee River runs directly
through Chattanooga. It and its any tributaries form many
lowland swamp-like areas that are ideal locations for
piscivorus. The Chattanooga climate is wet and very warm
during the summer months and food sources are plentiful.
Many Agkistrodon contortrix, the closest living relative of
piscivorus, are collected from Chattanooga annually, thus
illustrating the area’s capacity to sustain this type of
reptilian life form.
The Times article quoted Tennessee Wildlife
officials as saying, “No credible reports of cottonmouths in
Chattanooga have even been made.” The official was also
Note the proximity of Chattanooga to the current range map boundary of A.piscivorous. The mystery is
that there are no known barriers to prohibit them from ranging into Chattanooga.
quoted as saying he would like to see a cottonmouth taken
from Chattanooga.
INTERESTING NEWS ITEM
Snake Venom Used By
Government Assassins
Therein lies a problem. Tennessee law does not allow
for collection of any venomous species, thus making it
legally impossible to prove the local existence of
piscivorus in Chattanooga, TN. The officer’s statement
“No credible reports” leaves room for interpretation.
Obviously there have been reports, but none that are
considered credible. Its seems to be considered credible, a
witness would need to present the snake to officials, who
may then make an arrest for illegal position of Class I
wildlife, which includes all venomous snakes under the
state’s law code. Perhaps trustworthy herpetologists have
made reports of piscivorus sightings, but knew better than
to bring forth their evidence?
The following paragraph was taken from
a news item describing a bioweapons
program developed by the government of
South Africa and one of it’s scientists,
who was trying to sell some of their
products to the US government. This
portion describes some of the work that
he did for the South African government:
Scenic City Reptiles is spearheading a campaign for
the 2003 summer season that will attempt to prove the
existence of limited numbers of piscivorus in the
Chattanooga area. Evidence will be collected and presented
in a two fold manner. We will be herping the areas of
Chattanooga that are environmentally friendly to piscivorus
and taking close range digital pictures of any specimens we
may encounter. We will also be herping the same type of
areas just across the Tennessee and Georgia state line. This
area of Georgia is a suburb of Chattanooga and shares the
same topography and climate. According to Audubon,
there should be no Agkistrodon piscivorus in this area. If a
live specimen can be located, Georgia law will allow for
legal collection and it would then be a safe assumption that
piscivorus is indeed indigenous to Chattanooga, TN.
“Project Coast's notorious military
commander, Wouter Basson, used the lab to
create novel weapons for use against
anti-apartheid activists and supportive black
communities, according to documents and
testimony in a murder and fraud case that
ended last year in Basson's acquittal. One of
Goosen's first assignments, he has said,
was to harvest highly lethal venom from the
black mamba snake for use in secret
assassinations. Fangs from a dead snake
were used to make impressions in the
victim's skin so the death would appear
accidental.”
Anyone interested in assisting with the
2003 cottonmouth project please contact
SCR via the website, www.SCReptiles.com ,
or by phone at 423.580.7513.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServ
er?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=A
rticle&cid=1035781086345&call_pageid=96833218849
2&col=968793972154
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SAFE RESTRAINT METHOD FOR
HANDLING ADULT SPECIMENS OF THE NEOTROPICAL
RATTLESNAKE (CROTALUS DURISSUS)
Paul D. Rowley, Herpetologist
Alistair Reid Snake Venom Research Unit,
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
The Venom Research Unit
at the Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine houses
two sub-species of the
neotropical
rattlesnake,
Crotalus
durissus
collilineatus
and
C.d.terrificus, both wild
caught
from
different
locations in Brazil.
While C. durissus does not
attain the maximum size of
C.adamanteus or C.atrox,
they are still large heavily
bodied rattlesnakes with an
average weight of over 2 Kg
and a length in excess of 1.3
m. In comparison to the body
girth, the neck is very slender.
The animal is very strong and if handled
conventionally the powerful muscular thrashing
movements can easily result in a broken neck. The
extent of this problem is not as noticeable when
handling other large rattlesnakes. In addition, because
of this violent movement, there is a real danger of a
bite to the handler. Thus safe restraint of this species
presents a major handling problem.
The aim of this article is to outline the various
methods used to handle these snakes. This experience
has led to the development of a specific piece of
equipment designed for restraint.
1. Conventional handling technique
The conventional method of handling rattlesnakes
is well documented and widely used among
herpetologists. However it is our experience that
attempts to pin neotropical rattlesnakes with a hook
often results in the snake violently pulling its head free
and if additional pressure is applied to prevent this, the
snake will usually start to thrash about wildly. This
results in a high chance of damaging the head or neck
of the snake or the handler being bitten.
(1)
2. Use of carbon dioxide
Solid carbon dioxide (dry ice):
A second method is to use a
Fig. 1
procedure employed both at the
Fundação Ezequiel Dias in Belo
Horizonte, and the Instituto Medicina Tropical,
Manaus AM, Brazil. This involves the use of dry ice
as both a mild anaesthetic and as a cooling agent. The
original ventilated cage lid is replaced with a solid
perspex version. Dry ice is then placed into a
container, such as a small bowl, and water is added.
As well as lowering the temperature, this also results
in the release of CO2 gas which fills the cage and
anaesthetises the animal. This procedure takes five to
ten minutes depending on the effectiveness of the lid
seal and the quantity of dry ice used. The snake
requires careful and constant monitoring during the
process due to possible deleterious effects of excessive
exposure to CO2 causing brain damage
(2) Carbon dioxide gas:
Gaseous CO2 is used to anaesthetise all venomous
snakes prior to milking at the Instituto Butantan, São
Paulo in Brazil. Here the animal is lifted using a snake
hook and placed in a large narrow-necked container
(eg a plastic milk churn). This is then filled with CO2
gas which, because of its high density compared with
the atmospheric gases, sinks to the bottom of the
container. This again results in the anaesthesia of the
animal which, after a variable length of time, can be
lifted out of the container with the hook. Again careful
monitoring of the condition of the animal is necessary.
Once fully anaesthetised, the animal can be easily
picked up and milked whilst in a condition of hypoxia.
The main disadvantages of using CO2 are (i) the time
required for the process, (ii) the frequently
unpredictable state of anaesthesia of the animal with
associated bite risk to the handler, (iii) the risk of
killing the animal due to hypoxia, cerebral
haemorrhage and resultant brain damage.
3. Acrylic tube method
Because of these problems we started to look
at other possible methods of restraint. We had
previously been successful immobilising other
species by placing them in a clear acrylic tube.
This works but the method requires skill and
patience to encourage the snake to crawl along the
length of the tube without suddenly reversing out.
The technique also involves some degree of risk
to the handler.
rake handle (cut down to 85
cm) by a pair of angle
brackets with flat-headed
coach bolts. All the edges
were smoothed off and the
inside surface was padded
with high-density foam. To
discover
any
surface
imperfections and to ensure
an even spread of pressure, a
forearm was laid across a set
of bathroom scales and a
downwards
force
was
applied with the tool. Even
with a indicated pressure of
50 kg, only a light
impression
remained
momentarily on the skin
following this exercise. A similar test carried out with
a large rattlesnake indicated that a weight of 2-4 kg
was sufficient pressure to fully restrain the snake.
While it is advisable to have a second person
present when handling large rattlesnakes, this is not
essential when using this restraint tool. The snake is
carefully lifted out of its cage with a hook onto either a
foam camping mat, to provide additional padding, or
directly onto the floor. With the hook in one hand the
snake is encouraged to straighten out just sufficiently
for the tool to be placed over the back of the neck,
approximately 3 cm. behind the head
4. Neck-brace method
All the techniques mentioned above have some
major disadvantages. As the main aim is to
support the snake's neck prior to actually grasping
the animal behind the head, we decided to design
a padded neck brace in order to permit both
increased safety of handling and decreased risk of
damaging the snake. The brace was made from a
24 cm length of 55 mm diameter plastic drainage
pipe cut in half lengthways, attached to a garden
Fig. 2
(Fig.1).
Once positioned correctly, downward
pressure is applied as described.
The next step is to kneel down and use the knees to
grasp the rear of the body; (Fig.2), The left hand is
can then grasp the back of the head in the conventional
manner .
If required a second person can lightly pin the
head with a hook before the main handler grasps
the back of the head. Once satisfied with the grip the
tool is removed.
From this position various
procedures such as the administration of oral, topical
or injectable medication, removal of brilles, loose skin,
assisted feeding and venom extraction can be carried
out.
With the help of an assistant, additional procedures
such as cloacal probing, scale counting or veterinary
examinations can easily be carried out.
While this tool was designed specifically for
restraining Crotalus durissus sp. There is no reason
why it cannot, perhaps in a different size or curvature,
be used with other solenoglyphous species such as
large Bitis sp.
Furthermore it is not limited to the spartan space of
our milking room floor, due to its reasonably compact
size it could just as easily be used in a walk-in
vivarium as found in many zoological collections
around the world.
Additionally it would be very useful for the safe
capture of specimens in the field, the only precaution
when using on a natural substrate would be to ensure
that there were no sharp objects under the snake that
may cause injury.
This tool has exceeded our initial expectations in
the ease of operation and has been in constant use
since it was constructed in November 1995.
In conclusion, this article describes the design and
use of a padded neck brace for use in the safe handling
of large, active snake species for veterinary, venom
extraction and other purposes. The device has the
important added advantage that the entire process of
handling is rendered less traumatic for the individual
specimen than other more conventional methods. In
addition, due to the large number of specimens held,
there are considerable savings in both time and effort.
News Item:
Redbacks 'taking over the world'
AUSTRALIA'S humble red-back spider seems poised
for world domination, authorities have warned.
Venom expert Dr Ken Winkle said spiders, believed
to be Australian red-backs, had been discovered in
Japan and as far away as Belgium in the European
Union. He said authorities suspected the spiders, or
their egg sacks, had hitched a ride with Australian
trading goods, said Dr Winkle, director of the
Australian Venom Research Unit at the University of
Melbourne. He said red-back spider egg sacs carried
hundreds of potential spiders and were virtually
immune to quarantine chemical spraying. "And one
single spider escaping customs inspectors can lay
several of these egg sacs," Dr Winkle said. He said it
was extremely likely the arachnids had also made their
way into other nations around the world, but were yet
to be discovered. "The spiders have proven themselves
to be resilient to most weather types and can thrive
almost anywhere," he said. Dr Winkle said the spiders
had turned up in the port city of Osaka in Japan, which
receives a variety of Australian trade goods, in the late
1990s, and had quickly multiplied. "At first the Japanese
were complacent, believing the tropical spider would
die out with the first snows," he said. Now, several
years later, the spiders have spread into neighbouring
districts with some reports suggesting they may have
even reached the nation's capital, Tokyo. Dr Winkle
said with the appearance of red-backs had come a spate
of spider bites, with analysis showing the appearance
and venom of these spiders was extremely similar if not
identical to that of the Australian red-back. He said
Australian spider experts were collaborating with
Japanese officials to find a way to stop the venomous
invader in its tracks - but so far with little success.
Dr Winkle said specimens matching the red-back's
characteristics were also found in Belgium, with the
species now firmly entrenched. In their home country
of Australia, red-back spiders can now be found in all
six states and two territories, but they prefer settled or
urban areas. They are closely related to the notorious
black widow spider in the United States.
References
Klauber, L. M. (1956). 'Rattlesnakes, Their Habits,
Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind'.
Murphy, J. B. (1971). `A method for immobilizing
venomous snakes at the Dallas Zoo'. Int. Zoo Yb.
11:233.
A red-back spider bite can be lethal to children, the
elderly or adults with pre-existing medical conditions.
In severe cases an antivenom is available.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_pa
ge/0,5478,6245146%255E401,00.html

Word Pro - Spring 2003

Transcription

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